Search - Glenda Collins :: This Little Girl's Gone Rockin

Joe Meek's Premier Entry in the British Girl Singer Scene

Randall E. Adams | Los Angeles, CA United States | 04/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Because of the incredible glut of talented singers and artists making records in the 1960s, many very worthwhile people were lost in the shuffle. Glenda Collins falls into this category, her only claim to fame now being the fact that she was produced by cult hero Joe Meek for most of her recording career. In fact Glenda Collins is one of the few artists, and only female singer, with whom Meek worked for an extended period of time (1963 until death in 1967). Obviously mindful of the fact that she probably had the best voice of any of his roster, Meek lavished enormous attention on her records from the very first ("I Left My Heart at the Fairground" with its circus sound effects and galloping rhythm) to the very last ("It's Hard to Believe It" with its surreal lyrics, rocket launcher noises and heavenly choir). While some of the records are masterworks of Meek's eccentric taste, others are simply great mid-60s archetypes, such as rockaballad "Baby It Hurts" and the thoroughly raunchy sounding "Been Invited to a Party." Meek tried everything to make Glenda a hit. With "Johnny Loves Me," he tried a bubblegum bluebeat sound. With "Sing C'est la Vie" he adopted an extremely irritating continental novelty sound that sticks in your head so persistently that you KNOW it would have been a great hit with the unsophisticated if it had not been left in the can following Meek's suicide. And also in the can at the time of Meek's death were a batch of unfinished masters clearly following the Petula Clark model of mid-60s midtempo pop rock.The only dull tracks on this collection are the few things recorded before Glenda signed on with Meek. These merely serve to underscore the brilliance of Meek's work with his favorite female vocalist. If you enjoy the records of people like Sandi Shaw, try out Glenda Collins. If you have experienced some other Meek productions, this set is highly recommended. This is where you will find a good number of fantastic Meek moments."

A brilliant but unlucky no-hit wonder

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The history of pop music is filled with singers who might have become big stars but didn't. Usually, these singers had one or two hit records, however minor, but Glenda Collins somehow failed to register a hit of any size. A closer look at her story shows that she was desperately unlucky. After several years trying, she quit the business but later realized that she may have quit too soon. Nevertheless, this collection contains both sides of every single that Glenda recorded and which can be found - it is possible that other recordings were made but this is unclear.



Glenda was just sixteen when she began her recording career in 1960 for Decca. Her first two singles sold poorly and nothing more appeared until 1962 when a third single fared much better but still didn't chart so Decca dropped her. Meanwhile, Glenda had kept busy with radio and cabaret work.



At this point, Glenda's father managed to get her a recording deal with Joe Meek, a maverick independent producer who was very successful with many different singers and groups but is perhaps best remembered for his production of Telstar, a British and American number one hit for the Tornados. In fact, the Tornados also acted as backing musicians for some of Joe Meek's other artists and they fulfilled this duty on Glenda's first single for her new label, the brilliant I lost my heart in the fairground, featuring fairground sounds and plenty of Joe Meek touches in the production. It should have been a huge hit but wasn't because its release to the public was delayed. When it finally appeared, the Beatles and other Mersey groups had taken over the charts and Glenda's record didn't sell.



Glenda's next single, If you've got to pick a baby, showed that she and Joe Meek had adapted their sound (The Outlaws replaced the Tornados as backing musicians) and she performed the song on important TV pop shows to support its release. With rave reviews, this also might have been a big hit in the run-up to Christmas. The record was so popular that initial pressings sold quickly but the record company didn't press any more. They were too busy with the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five. By the time it was possible to press more copies, the momentum had been lost.



With two obvious opportunities for major hits lost, Glenda (through no fault of her own) found the going tough after that. Her next few singles didn't get the publicity accorded to her two missed chances although they are excellent records in their own way. Joe Meek committed suicide on the eighth anniversary of Buddy Holly's death (a date that may have been deliberately chosen by Joe).



Following Joe's death, Glenda's father managed to get hold of a couple of songs that eventually became top ten hits for others. Nobody can even know what would have happened if Glenda had recorded them first. With more opportunities for female singers in the late sixties, Glenda might finally have had that big hit. However, Glenda had lost heart and quit.



So we are left with a legacy of what might have been. If those two big misses had both been big hits, who knows how many of the later misses would also have been big hits? We will never know, but this compilation shows that Glenda Collins was every bit as good as many of her compatriots who had plenty of hits."

A dream come true!

girlgroupmeekfreak | Seattle, WA USA | 04/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been infatuated with the work of Glenda Collins for a few years through the earlier reissues of such numbers as "It's hard to believe it", "Something i've got to tell you" and "I lost my heart at the fairground". All of these felt like unwrapping imported chocolates when first heard, not only for Joe Meeks bizarre beauty, but the unique talent of the lady herself. Discovering this cd was truly a dream come true. Some of the other songs which I had never heard were even better than the original trio for me. "If you gotta pick a baby", "Baby it hurts", "Paradise for two", "Nice wasnt it" the list goes on and on. The most impressive prize, for me, was "Self Portrait" an unreleased gem unlike any other i've heard from Meek. My only gripe is the first six tracks, which are all pre-Meek. Glenda never really got the right push from any music producers besides Meek. All in all, this stands as a glorious testament to the striking talents of all involved."